Adrian Sutil insists he is "not nervous" ahead of his test with Force India on Thursday.
Billed by the media as a ’shootout’ for the last race seat in 2013, German Sutil will drive the VJM06 at Barcelona a day before the other hot contender, Jules Bianchi, tests on Friday.
"I’m pleased to finally be back on a formula one track," Sutil, who bowed out of F1 after his assault conviction of 2011, is quoted by the DPA news agency.
"It’s quite a while ago since Brazil 2011. The anticipation is there, but I’m not nervous or anything.
"I don’t think I have to prove something to the team," said Sutil, who spent his entire F1 career with the Silverstone based outfit.
"I don’t know if this is really a fight for the (race) cockpit, so that’s why I’m not worried."
He’s not worried, but 30-year-old Sutil does know that Thursday is an important moment.
"I think it’s my last chance to really have a future in formula one," he acknowledged. "I think that with another year of waiting, the train will have departed.
"Then I would have to think about something else. But I’m also experienced enough that I can only do what I always do, which is the best I can."
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claims that Sutil actually reached agreement about 2013 with Force India back in December, before the negotiations between the Ferrari-linked Jules Bianchi became serious.
Sutil’s manager Manfred Zimmermann said: "We do not blame the team. They have always treated us fairly."